A gift of $1 million has been given to Yale Divinity School in honor of the Rev. Sidney Lovett, the renowned chaplain at Yale University from 1932 to 1958. The gift from two Yale College alumni will be used in support of financial aid for students and provides significant momentum for the school's ultimate goal of making a YDS education tuition-free for all.

Harold Attridge, dean of Yale Divinity School, said, "The extraordinary generosity of these donors will have an immediate impact on students by establishing an endowment that will provide the equivalent of at least two full-tuition scholarships annually. In the long term, it moves us closer to our goal of offering tuition-free education to all accepted students."

The Sidney Lovett Scholarship Fund is open for additional contributions from alumni and friends who wish to honor his memory.

Rev. Lovett, who died in 1979, was known affectionately as "Uncle Sid." In addition to his duties as chaplain, he also taught biblical literature and was master of Pierson College. A pacifist, he was active in social concerns for peace and, during World War II, served as president of the World Student Service Fund. In retirement, he was executive director of Yale/China in Hong Kong. In honoring Lovett's memory, former Yale president A. Bartlett Giamatti said, "Sid Lovett embodied all that Yale stands for and wants to be. Perhaps no Yale person in this century touched as many lives in this community and beyond."

At present, Yale Divinity School provides scholarship money to cover, on average, approximately 65 percent of total tuition costs for each student. The Sidney Lovett scholarship will significantly enhance the Divinity School's ability to enroll talented and dedicated students.